March 10, 2010

What do chocolates and comic books have in common?

Well, actually not too much, other than local teens can learn how to make both during March Break, March 15 to 20. Envious adults, take heart. Talk your teen into taking one of these free programs and maybe they'll show and tell (and share) later! Registration is required

On the menu for How to Make Tantalizing Truffles & Other Scrumptious Stuff on Wednesday, March 17, 2-3.30pm, are creamy chocolate truffles, nifty chocolate plastic and a rich chocolate dip.

And if you know someone in grade 7 to 12 who loves to draw, this hands-on comic book drawing workshop with artist Bruce Outridge gets right to the fun stuff, such as layout, drawing, and inking. Art materials are supplied in class. This class runs 2-4pm on Monday, March 15 at Central and Wednesday, March 17 at Tansley Woods.

For younger artists, we have two great programs: local cartoonist (and BPL's own) Chris Howard is at Central on Thursday, March 17, 1.30-2.30pm, to teach kids ages 8+ how to create a cartoon character (cost: $5/person) and we have a free class on the ancient art of Mehndi henna painting on the body (non-permanent!) at New Appleby branch on Friday, March 19, 2.30-4pm. Both programs require registration; please call the location.

March 5, 2010

It's March Break time again! March 15 to 20

March may have come in like a lamb earlier this week, but we forecast a high activity system moving into all Burlington Public Library locations by the middle of this month!

Library locations are gearing up for a fun-filled March Break, with contests, Wii gaming, Legomania, a cartoon workshop, a goofy green gala, an open games room, a month-long reading game...and lots more!

Take a look on the kids website for programs at Central and in the BPL Guide (PDF) for programs at all locations. Please note: the Reptile Party at New Appleby Library is now full.

March 4, 2010

Need a hand with your taxes? Get help from the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) at Central Library

Who is eligible for this FREE service?
If your income is low and your tax situation is simple, Canada Revenue Agency volunteers can help you complete your income tax and benefit return. Read eligibility details here >>

Every Monday, from Monday, March 8 to April 26, CVITP volunteers will be in the Holland Room, located on the 1st floor of Central Library, ready to help you with your taxes. No appointment is necessary— just drop in between 9am to 3pm. This service was very popular last year, so we recommend that you come prepared to wait.

Important! Volunteers will not complete income tax and benefit returns for deceased persons, bankrupt individuals, or people who have capital gains or losses, employment expenses, or business or rental income and expenses.

March 1, 2010

Public Information Session - Alton High School, Library & Community Centre and Norton Community Park

The City of Burlington, Burlington Public Library, and Halton District School Board will be hosting a public information session to display the development of Norton Community Park, Alton Community Centre, Burlington Public Library’s Northeast Branch, and the Halton District School Board Alton High School.

You are invited to join us:

Monday, March 8
Brant Hills Community Centre
7 to 8.30pm

At this meeting, graphic concept panels will be displayed and staff will be on hand to answer questions. If you require further information prior to the meeting, please contact:

Charlotte O’Hara-Griffin, Supervisor of Park Planning & Development
905.335.7600, ext 7488 or email ohara-griffinc@burlington.ca

Jennifer Johnson, Project Management, Corporate Strategic Initiatives
905.335.7600, ext 7358 or email johnsonj@burlington.ca

March 1, 2010

Disrupted access to catalogue and website this month

Cogeco will be upgrading their fiber network in the Burlington area this month.During this work, services will be down or disrupted on March 9, 16, and 30.

March 9 and March 30, from midnight to 7am
There will be no or intermittent access to the library website and catalogue.

March 16, from midnight to 7am
There may be sporadic access to the library website and catalogue.

We apologize for any inconvenience to you and appreciate your patience.

February 26, 2010

March is I'll Show You How Month

Last September we celebrated life-long learning with a month-long event called "I'll Show You How." It proved so popular with library visitors that we are doing it again!

Look at the great introductory sessions offered throughout March. Ever dream of dabbling in watercolour painting or making one-of-a-kind jewelry? Perhaps creating your ideal landscape or learning how to prepare your perennials are more to your interest. Learning how to achieve financial success or use the Internet is a good investment of your time this month.

Teens can make their own comic books or chocolate confections—or learn how to speak with confidence in public.

I'll Show You How sessions are all free with materials provided. All you need to do is call to register and show up!

February 25, 2010

Authors, authors, authors!

Update (Mar 04): Joy Fielding will now be appearing on April 12, not April 26 as originally scheduled.

We have an exciting lineup of authors this spring for every reading taste.

Our popular Meet the Author series is free to attend and brings talented Canadian authors Nicholas Ruddock (March 3), Catherine Gildiner (April 7), Joy Fielding (April 26), and James Fitzgerald (May 27) to Central Library. Register to attend by calling 905.639.3611 ext 134.

On April 1, sommelier and author Linda Bramble will present her talk, A History of Ontario Wine in Six Glasses, along with a sampling of wines and light refreshments. Tickets to this special event are $20/person and must be purchased in advance and in person at the 3rd floor Information Desk, Central Library. This event to open to wine lovers 19 years of age and older (proof of age may be required).

Are you passionate about eating local food? Then you won’t want to miss Sarah Elton’s visit on March 22, our Engaging Ideas guest author this month. She will be talking about the environment-friendly locavore movement. Tickets cost $10/person and can be purchased in advance at A Different Drummer Books and the 3rd floor Information Desk at Central Library.  Light refreshments catered by The Grinning Gourmand are a tasty part of every Engaging event.

Read more about author visits and other events for readers >>

February 22, 2010

Kilbride Library closed tonight

Due to the inclement weather, Kilbride branch will be closed this evening. We encourage you to stay safe and comfortable at home tonight.

Here's the perfect opportunity to try borrowing a book from our digital library. Burlington Public Library has a great selection of books that you can download from the library website and listen to (audiobooks) or read (ebooks). All you need is your library card to get started!

>> go to downloadable audiobooks and >> go to downloadable eBooks

Any time the weather looks doubtful, here's how you can find out about library closures.

February 19, 2010

Find us on Facebook

We're looking for friends in all the right places! BPL is now part of the Facebook phenonenon—and we invite you to visit us >> BPL on Facebook

Drop by our Facebook site to stay-up-to-date on library happenings, check out useful links, and tell us about your BPL experience.

February 16, 2010

See Cinderella, Jasmine, and Tinker Bell, too!

The greatest moments of Disney’s favourite stories come alive in the Princess Classics presented by Disney on Ice, produced by Feld Entertainment—and now brought to you by Burlington Public Library!

From February 16 to March 12, library visitors have the chance to win a family pack of four (4) tickets to the Princess Classic at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton on Saturday, March 20, 2010.

Watch and cheer as Cinderella, Jasmine, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Mulan, and Snow White have their dreams come true—and see what mischief Tinker Bell is making!

Both adults and children may enter the contest. No purchase is necessary. Winners will be contacted on Friday, March 12.

Presented in partnership with Feld Entertainment.

February 8 , 2010

Spring BPL Guide is hot off the press

The spring edition of the library's guide to programs and services for children, teens, and adults is available today at all library locations.

Now when you look through the guide, you'll see something brand new. This quarterly events and services guide is printed and distributed in partnership with The Burlington Post, and supported by advertisements. Thanks to the support of local businesses and organizations, we have tripled the number of printed BPL Guides available to Burlington residents. This is an important first step to get more people aware of all the great things happening at our library!

Inside the BPL Guide you will find:

• programs for children, teens and adults
• details on I’ll Show You How special programs during the month of March
• simple steps to joining the library
• details on Click computer classes and March Break
• general information about the library (fines, services, locations and more)

Can't wait to pick up a printed guide? You can download the Spring 2010 BPL Guide (without the ads) here!

February 8, 2010

Bur Bear awards colouring contest winners

Family and friends clapped and cheered as Bur Bear presented prizes to nine excited young people at Tansley Woods Library on Saturday, February 6. Congratulations to this year’s Bur Bear Colouring Contest winners: Dominic M., Alexa K., Kirpa D., Luca B., Nancy K., Shasni P., Clarissa M., Samenan V., and Kailey S.

This year 227 contest entries were judged by the library’s Teen Advisory Board.

This annual contest, presented in partnership by BPL and the Burlington Family Winter Carnival, was launched in late December. Colouring contest sheets were available city-wide at all library locations and recreation centres.

January 26, 2010

Burlington Public Library Board elects new executive

The Burlington Public Library Board announces the recent elections for chair and vice chair for 2010.

Chair Carrie Brooks-Joiner became a board member in 2006, serving in 2007 through 2009 as the vice chair. Ms Brooks-Joiner is the principal consultant for Carrie Brooks Joiner & Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in supporting the arts, culture and heritage priorities of non-profit organizations and municipalities. She also teaches management in the University of Victoria’s Cultural Resource Management Program.

Born in Burlington, Ms. Brooks-Joiner has a life-long affiliation with the city and extensive community experience through her involvement with local and area groups and regional and provincial agencies. She currently volunteers with the United Way of Burlington & Greater Hamilton and the Hamilton Community Foundation, and actively supports local soccer and hockey teams.

Vice chair Nancy Douglas joined the library board in 2008, and brings over 25 years of marketing and business development expertise. She is a speaker, workshop leader, and executive coach, and is the founder of Strategic Coaching & Consulting and NeuroStrategies, both based in Burlington. A Burlington resident for 10 years, Ms. Douglas also volunteers with The Literacy Council of Burlington.

Carrie Brooks-Joiner and Nancy Douglas will serve in their elected positions until January 2011.
The Library Board members serving the 2007-2010 term are Carrie Brooks-Joiner, Duane Cornelius, Councillor Carol D’Amelio, Nancy Douglas, Josh Hunter, Kerry Langford, and Terry Tick.

Library Board meetings are open to the public and held the third Thursday evening of every month, September through June. The meeting agenda is posted on the library website and on branch bulletin boards four days prior to each meeting. For more information about the Library Board >>

January 21, 2010

Learn a new language…online through the library

Bienvenido, Mango! The newest addition to our database collection is Mango, an interactive language-learning system that teaches you conversation skills in a wide variety of languages, including ESL.

By listening to and repeating, you'll learn individual words and phrases and how they are used in practical situations and conversations. You'll learn how to communicate!

Mango offers basic lessons in: Arabic (Levantine), Chinese (Mandarin), Dari, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese,  Korean, Pashto, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Latin America), Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, Urdu, and Vietnamese.

Mango offers complete courses in: Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, and Spanish (Latin America).

Mango offers basic ESL lessons in: French, Russian, Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese), Italian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Greek, German, Spanish (Latin America), Polish, Arabic (Egyptian) and Portuguese (Brazil).

Mango offers complete ESL courses in: Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Latin America), and Polish.

To use Mango, go to our Internet Databases page and click on Mango Languages from the fast access alphabetical drop down list. Go now >>

January 20, 2010

Technical problem with library account information display

Update / February 9: Thank you for reporting any problems you have recently experienced with your library record. The technical problem appears to be resolved; however, we are continung to investigate the root cause. If you do notice any problems with missing library account information, please contact your branch location. We appreciate your continued patience and cooperation.

January 20: We are currently experiencing a problem with missing library account information: when checking their library account, some people cannot see their checkout, overdue, or holds information.

Please be assured that the account records exist even though we cannot see the information right now. Restoring the information display is our IT department’s top priority.

If your library account is affected:

• Please contact your library branch as soon as convenient and let staff know that you cannot see your account information.
• You can continue to place holds, but you cannot renew items or inactivate/reactivate holds through your online account at this time.

Need to renew? You can renew up to five items using the Touch-Tone Telephone Renewal Service. Call 905.333.3701 and have your library card and the item(s) you wish to renew within reach. Items with outstanding holds and seasonal items cannot be renewed.

Please check here periodically for updates on this situation.

We greatly appreciate your ongoing patience and understanding as we work to restore the display of your account information. Thank you.

January 11, 2010

Wireless Internet access service interruptions today

There may be some service interruptions today for customers using wireless to access the Internet at Central Library. We appreciate your patience while our IT Department addresses the technical issues.

January 5, 2010

Enter the Bur Bear Colouring Contest

The 12th Annual Bur Bear Colouring Contest is on now until Saturday, January 23. This year's Olympic-themed colouring sheet is available at all library locations or download it now!

Dazzle us with your creative colouring! Prizes are awarded in three age groups: 3-5, 6-8, and 9-11. Prizes will be presented by Bur Bear on Saturday, February 6 at Tansley Woods Library.